According to the updated statistics on nTLDStats.com, there are now over 14 million registered new gTLD domain names. What makes this figure more notable is that the registration number just passed 12.5 million registrations 3 weeks ago on February 10. There has been a clear spike in domain name registrations over the last several weeks.
Check out this screenshot of the growth in registered new gTLD domain names since approximately the beginning of the year (courtesy of nTLDStats.com):
The registration growth is also impressive when you look at the chart showing the growth in registrations of new gTLD domain names since inception (also courtesy of nTLDStats.com):
My opinion is that this rapid growth is at least partially due to the low cost of new domain names, with the registration fee for quite a few extensions hovering at around $1/each. It will be interesting to see if registries continue with the low pricing model when it comes time for renewals, and if the prices are increased, it will be interesting to see what happens with renewals.
In the meantime, it’s been quite interesting watching the number of domain names in general being registered. As Mike Berkens noted (and as Verisign has also noted), there has also been a spike in .com registrations as well.
My opinion remains that the most important aspect for adoption is the usage of new gTLD domain names, and I think that still remains fairly low. Lots of registrations is likely good for additional cashflow for the registries and registrars though.
I continue to remain on the sidelines when it comes to new gTLD domain name investments with just a handful of new gTLD domain names in my portfolio. I also don’t think I have bought any new ones in quite some time, perhaps even a year.
Well, I heard someone is going to
“Make DOMAINS whatever Great Again” !!!
That graph of new TLD registrations in recent months reminds me of the Nasdaq (QQQ) late 90s. Cheap registrations and renewals are good for investors as it reduces carrying costs. I guess the key question is whether $1 registrations will lead to $1 renewals. If renewals go to $12 the new TLD registration graph could end up looking like QQQ from 2000 to fall 2002.
Let’s be generous and assume that of the 14 million new TLD registrations, only 12 million are held by investors or one million per month that need to be renewed. If new TLD turnover (sales) were 1% which is the historical industry turnover ratio, then we should be see 10k new TLD aftermarket sales monthly. Only a certain portion of those sales would qualify for reporting on DNJ because even a $300-$500 sale would still be a sale. But perhaps the top 20% would meet the reporting threshold. So on a weekly basis we should see…
12 million domainer registrations / 12 months x 1% turn / ~4 weeks/month x 20% qualifying for DNJ reporting or….
500 DNJ domainer-held aftermarket new TLD sales weekly
Check the recent DNJ reports and exclude the registry auctions of previously reserved names. How many new TLD sales do you see? Nowhere near 500.
Unfortunately it appears to me that new TLDs with $1 registrations are being viewed by many registrants as lottery tickets. Would you advise your readers to invest in lottery tickets?
Personally, I’d rather have more options than fewer options. So let’s take these numbers at face value for now. A year, two years from now, the numbers will adjust – up or down – according to real use.
All the new extensions combined are well on their way to passing the total registration volume for .TK. They are already more than halfway there!
Let me know when an aftermarket appears. Until then, most of these are just a bunch of sub $1 worthless regs.
Brad
@Brad,
There is already an aftermarket for the less established TLDs; it’s just fairly small. Right now I have a mid $x,xxx item in Escrow.com, and it uses 1 of the TLDs currently selling for $1. Passive sale – meaning the buyer came to me 3 months after I purchased the domain and required no coaxing.
Naturally, the aftermarket for .COM is more robust and stable. Most of the people registering domains in other TLDs will waste their money either because their name choices are ill judged or because the market demand won’t pick up quickly enough for the full-priced renewal fees to be survivable.
1 of the reasons I recommend new domainers start off with firmly established TLD markets like .COM’s is that they can train themselves better that way. There’s a history of data to calibrate oneself against. There’s quicker feedback from buyers – i.e. no need to educate them about unfamiliar suffixes. And there’s some discipline in paying full price and budgeting for renewal costs. Many new domainers – especially in China, where much of this frenzied sub-$1 buying is happening – are in for a rude awakening on their 1 year anniversary.
It would be interesting to see the stats at the same time next year.
At least 50% were paid for by money illegally laundered out of China. The renewal rate won’t be high.
meanwhile, not a single website that i have ever visited is one of them.
I agree with what you said in the article that usage is a key indicator of importance of specific new gTLDs.
I also feel that a natural consequence of the usage factor is that any new TLD’s which have a reputation for having spammy sites will be devalued. To that end I like to keep a close eye on the fraud section in nTLDStats, since it shows which of the new TLDs have the most malware or spam sites. This set of TLDs fluctuates a lot at the moment, since these are early days yet in the new TLD’s, but I find it an interesting metric to look at.